Coatesville council looks forward to new year

COATESVILLE — The structure of city council will remain the same in 2013 as President David Collins and Vice President Joseph Hamrick were reelected by their peers at Monday’s reorganizational meeting.

Collins concluded Monday’s meeting by urging his fellow council members to continue to focus on important issues like quarterly budget reviews, hiring new labor counsel, and beginning a project to revitalize the city’s downtown area.

“It’s going to take a considerable amount of effort on the part of everyone on council,” Collins said. “We’ll be as expedient as we can to pull all of that off. It’s my intention that we all earn our $150 a month.”

Hamrick also spoke at the end of the meeting and drew attention to the ongoing struggles surrounding the city’s finances.

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“I think this year is very important for us to stay on budget. We have to tighten our belts,” Hamrick said. “We cannot overspend, we cannot continue to overspend. If we do, we’re going to be eating at that trust fund.”

The city’s trust fund, started in 2001 with a balance of about $38 million, is now down to just over $7 million. In recent years city council has used the trust fund to offset revenue shortfalls when approving the city’s budget.

Hamrick agreed that revitalizing the city’s downtown area should be a top priority and that action is already being taken to get the project under way.

“Hopefully we will be successful, we need something to bring in the business,” he said. “We have to move forward and revitalize this city. If we don’t have something to bring the businesses in, it’s not going to happen.”

Other council members expressed optimism that the new year will be one of progress in the city.